Judge upholds ban on cities' deals with chambers of commerceLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Pulaski County circuit judge has upheld a ruling that banned Little Rock and North Little Rock from paying their chambers of commerce for economic development services. Judge Mackie Pierce ruled Monday that the cities' contracts with their commerce chambers violate the state Constitution, which he said prohibits municipalities from paying private companies without receiving anything in return. Several community activists h...

Southwest Steel to expand Newport plant, add 100 jobsNEWPORT (AP) — Southwest Steel Processing announced Monday that it plans an $18 million expansion of its plant in Newport and to add 100 jobs at the facility. "The expansion at Southwest Steel Processing of a second forging line will significantly increase our ability to provide high-quality, competitively price forged steel parts to our customers," Ken Copeland, president of Southwest Steel Processing, said in a news release following the ann...

New power grid manager now open at Little RockLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A nonprofit company that manages the power grid from the Gulf Coast to Manitoba says it has officially transferred its South operations from its main control center in Carmel, Indiana, to its new Little Rock operations center. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator says the transfer was made at midnight Sunday and will help keep utility costs down. The $22 million, 50,000-square-foot center has about 40 employees who w...

Governor OKs bond deal for proposed defense projectLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Legislation that Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law Friday authorizes an $87 million incentive package to help lure a major defense project to Arkansas. The governor called legislators back to Little Rock for a special session that wrapped up Thursday, listing the potential incentive package as the top agenda item. The incentive proposal calls for issuing bonds if Lockheed Martin is the successful bidder for a military vehi...

Lawmakers OK incentive package for defense projectLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An $87 million incentive package aimed at luring a military vehicle assembly plant to south Arkansas easily won final approval Thursday, as lawmakers wrapped up a three-day special legislative session focused on the defense contract. The state Senate approved the measure 30-2, while the House approved an identical bill on a 90-0 vote. The plan calls for issuing bonds if Lockheed Martin wins a defense contract to assemble a n...

Legislators endorse $87 million incentive packageLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An $87 million incentive package intended to bring a military vehicle assembly plant to south Arkansas easily won initial approval from lawmakers Wednesday, with a handful of Republicans opposing the move as the wrong way to attract business to the state. The Arkansas House voted 96-0 in favor of the plan to issue bonds if Lockheed Martin wins a defense contract to assemble a new tactical vehicle that will replace the Humvee...

Tracy Morgan settles suit with Wal-Mart over fatal crashNEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Actor-comedian Tracy Morgan has settled his lawsuit against Wal-Mart over a highway crash that killed one man and left Morgan and two friends seriously injured. A filing in federal court in Newark on Wednesday refers to a confidential settlement reached by the two sides. Morgan's lawyer didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday. Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. called it an "amicable settlement...

Building momentum Drive in nearly every direction from the heart of downtown Russellville on Main Street or Arkansas Avenue, and you will find some sort of construction going on. Head East, and you’ll drive past the Chili’s To-Go restaurant that will open sometime in June. Right next door, plans are in the works for a Zaxby’s restaurant. Construction on Steak and Shake on Parkway Drive is moving along. Go West, and the finishing touches are being done to Med Ex...

State Business Week in Review (May 25, 2015)Governor outlines special session call Gov. Asa Hutchinson made the official call for legislators to meet in special session beginning May 26 to vote on helping lure the military’s new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle production facility to Camden, moving Arkansas’ 2016 primary elections from May to March, moving the fiscal session from February to April, and merging seven state agencies into three. Legislators will vote on issuing $87 million in ...

Wal-Mart announces expansion of veteran hiringLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Nate Waits wakes up before 3 a.m. four days a week to get to his job at a Bentonville distribution center for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where the former Marine is among more than 92,000 veterans the company has hired in the past two years. As the two-year anniversary approaches of the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment program the company launched on Memorial Day 2013, the retail giant announced Wednesday that it is expanding its ...

Wal-Mart 1Q profit falls on pay raisesNEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a 7 percent drop in first-quarter profit as the strong dollar and some efforts to improve its business hurt its bottom line. The company said Tuesday that higher worker wages and increased spending on its online operations were among the reasons its results missed Wall Street estimates. On the news, investors sent the company's shares down more 4 percent. Greg Foran, who had been president and CEO ...

Johnson & Johnson agrees to pay $7.8M to settle lawsuitLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Court filings show pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $7.8 million to settle a lawsuit over how the company marketed an antipsychotic drug to Arkansas doctors. Around $2 million will go to a Texas law firm that represented Arkansas in the suit, which began more than seven years ago. A Pulaski County jury ruled three years ago that the company, through its Janssen Pharmaceutical subsidiary, committed Med...

Arkansas session puts focus back on jobsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An effort to lure a major defense contract to south Arkansas is offering Gov. Asa Hutchinson a chance to put the focus back on jobs weeks after a legislative session that ended with an unexpected fight over a religious objections law. But the special session planned later this month could also renew the debate over how much a Republican-controlled Legislature is willing to shed its dislike of government spending in exchange ...

Entergy says grid manager savings exceed projectionsJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Entergy Corp. estimates its electrical customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas saved more than $250 million during the first year of Entergy's membership in a regional grid manager. Customer savings are building more quickly than Entergy estimated before joining the Indiana-based Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator in late 2013. Entergy had estimated $1.4 billion in customer savings over ...

Wal-Mart to test unlimited shipping service for $50 per yearNEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will test a new unlimited shipping service for online shoppers this summer that will be priced below Amazon's widely popular $99 per year Prime service. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the shipping subscription service will cost customers $50 a year. Products will arrive in three days or less. Ravi Jariwali, a Wal-Mart spokesman, says the service will be a...

Little Rock Port board passes resolution on land useLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Little Rock Port Authority Board of Directors has passed a resolution on land use that encourages what the board calls appropriate use and development of property adjacent to the port's industrial park. The resolution approved Friday comes as a May 13 deadline for public comment approaches on an application by the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma to place 160 acres adjacent to the port into federal trust. The board says the reso...

Wal-Mart targets one-time Target stores in CanadaNEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart, already Canada's biggest retailer, wasted little time in cementing that title after its rival Target retreated back to the U.S. The company is buying 13 former Target stores and one distribution center and said it will hire 3,400 new employees. It is spending $290 million to buy and renovate the stores and said that will created 1,500 construction jobs. Target Corp. closed the last of its 133 Canadian stores in April ...

Zaxby's to open Russellville locationZaxby’s will open a new location in Russellville in the fall of 2015. Construction is set to begin in either May or June, and once ground is broken, it will take 90-100 days on average to complete. The restaurant will be located at 2605 E. Main St. Zaxby’s will serve chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads. Zaxby’s currently has 675 locations in 16 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missi...

Restaurateurs welcome competitionThe Russellville City Council is finalizing an ordinance requiring mobile food vendors to relocate after 180 days. But local brick-and-mortar restaurant owners welcome the competition and diversification. “Hopefully the food vendors will have good trucks and expand the opportunities for Russellville to get good food,” said Gordon Shirron, owner of Fat Daddy’s Bar-B-Que. “I’m sure the City Council is doing what’s right, and as long as we’re all...

Officials update revenue forecastLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas officials have revised upward the state's general revenue forecast for the current fiscal year by 2.1 percent from a forecast in November. Department of Finance and Administration officials presented the revised forecast Wednesday to the legislative Joint Committee on Economic and Tax Policy. The forecast predicts a net revenue increase for the fiscal year ending June 30 of about $129 million or 2.6 percent over fis...